Written questions by Naish.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration she has given to imposing sanctions under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 on officials involved in the prosecution, sentencing or detention of Jimmy Lai.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities following the conviction of the father of US-based activist Anna Kwok; what assessment she has made of the potential implications of this case for the risk of reprisals against the family members of Hong Kong activists living overseas; and what steps the Government is taking with international partners to deter further such actions.

The UK closely monitored the trial of Kwok Yin-sang, and British diplomats attended his verdict on 11 February. This Government will not tolerate any attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm their critics overseas. We have raised our concerns regarding the Hong Kong Police's use of arrest warrants and bounties directly with the Hong Kong authorities, and officials engage frequently with like-minded international partners about these issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to her Hong Kong and Chinese counterparts on consular access to Jimmy Lai; and how many requests for consular access have been (a) made and (b) granted since his detention began.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February. The government will continue to raise Jimmy Lai's case with the Chinese government at every opportunity - as the Prime Minister did in talks with President Xi during his recent visit to China, and as the Foreign Secretary did with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 6 November. I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention.On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department to demonstrate leadership on Women, Peace and Security in the programme of the UK's UN Security Council Presidency.

Details of our plans for the UK's Presidency of the UN Security Council will be set out in the usual way in due course. In the interim, I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's speech on 24 November 2025 confirming the importance that this Government attaches to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which is available at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/twenty-five-years-of-women-peace-and-security

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will include Women, Peace and Security as a core theme of the UK's Presidency of the UN Security Council.

Details of our plans for the UK's Presidency of the UN Security Council will be set out in the usual way in due course. In the interim, I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's speech on 24 November 2025 confirming the importance that this Government attaches to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which is available at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/twenty-five-years-of-women-peace-and-security

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK will contribute £1 billion to the Eighth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 September 2025 to Questions 72852 and 72853.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on (a) lifting restrictions on crossings and (b) restoring UN-led, coordinated humanitarian operations in Gaza.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterparts on opening secure humanitarian corridors across Gaza.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on (a) humanitarian access being limited to (i) Kerem Shalom and (ii) Kissufim and (b) the closure of Zikim.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Israel’s evacuation order from Gaza City on the adequacy of (a) food, (b) medical supplies and (c) space in humanitarian zones.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 17 September to Question 71870.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with the government of Israel on removing its new registration requirements for INGOs in Gaza.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking with his counterparts in multilateral organisations to (a) defend and (b) advance sexual and reproductive (i) health and (ii) rights.

The UK works with multilateral organisations including the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organisation and the Global Financing Facility, alongside governments and civil society and provides targeted funding, technical partnership and diplomatic engagement to defend and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).Earlier this year on International Women's Day, the Foreign Secretary appointed Baroness Harman as Special Envoy for Women and Girls, progressing our foreign policy and development objectives to protect women and girls' rights, including SRHR. In June 2026, she met with international counterparts and programme partners at Wilton Park, expressing the UK's commitment to defending and advancing SRHR.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any nutrition programmes have had their budget reduced in 2025-26.

The 2025 Spending Review has confirmed the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office's (FCDO) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for 2025-26. With the overall reductions to ODA budgets across the Department, there has been some impact to the central nutrition budget but decisions across Posts are yet to be finalised. The FCDO will be able to assess the financial impact of this spending review on nutrition-related spend in 2027 once nutrition-related spend data is consolidated.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to continue the Healthy Women, Children and Newborns approach in (a) 2026 and (b) 2027.

The UK is committed to supporting global efforts to end preventable maternal, child and newborn deaths by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal targets through the Healthy Women, Children and Newborn approach.Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of resource allocation processes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has specified (a) targets and (b) benchmarks for gender equality spending from the ODA budget as a (i) principal and (ii) significant objective.

As we transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Government is reviewing existing commitments. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be informed by impact assessments, ahead of publishing multi-year allocations.Data on ODA spend is available in the Statistics on International Development publications, which are available for 2023 and provisionally for 2024. Data is available broken down by sector for the 2023 publication, including social sector spending on health and education, and humanitarian aid. Further information and annual reviews on specific programmes, including those with a specific focus on equalities, can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting gender equality around the world, and is taking steps to strengthen the integration of gender equality across the Department's work.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the potential merits of funding more programmes that support gender equality as their main objective.

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting gender equality around the world, and stands in solidarity with women's rights organisations who are on the frontline of that fight. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recognises that advancing gender equality and breaking down the barriers faced by women and girls is essential to development and to delivering the missions of this government overseas.The FCDO is taking steps to strengthen the integration of gender equality across the Department's work. This will ensure we maximise the impacts for women, girls, and marginalised groups across all our spend and through our diplomatic levers, including by driving innovation to generate sustainable funding flows for women's rights.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to help (a) advance gender equality and (b) protect women’s and girls’ rights through multilateral negotiations.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave him on 9 September to Question 71594.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in ODA on levels of funding for programmes with gender equality objectives.

Our 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations reflect the first step as we begin to pivot to a lower ODA budget. An Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) - which considers impacts on women and girls and wider equalities - was an essential part of how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) made these decisions. Final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations were published in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts on 22 July alongside the EIA. As confirmed by the EIA, the allocations process for 2025/26 has protected against disproportionate impacts on women and girls and people living with disabilities.The UK remains committed to tackling gender inequality around the world and we are placing women and girls at the heart of our international work.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of children expected to be impacted by planned reductions to Official Development Assistance spending on nutrition programmes in 2025-26.

Our 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations reflect the first step as we begin to pivot to a lower ODA budget. An Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) - which considers impacts on women and girls and wider equalities - was an essential part of how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) made these decisions. Final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations were published in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts on 22 July alongside the EIA. As confirmed by the EIA, the allocations process for 2025/26 has protected against disproportionate impacts on women and girls and people living with disabilities.The UK remains committed to tackling gender inequality around the world and we are placing women and girls at the heart of our international work.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish annual reports on the outcomes of ODA spending on (a) gender equality initiatives and (b) whether the (i) principal and (ii) significant objectives of that spending has been achieved.

As we transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Government is reviewing existing commitments. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be informed by impact assessments, ahead of publishing multi-year allocations.Data on ODA spend is available in the Statistics on International Development publications, which are available for 2023 and provisionally for 2024. Data is available broken down by sector for the 2023 publication, including social sector spending on health and education, and humanitarian aid. Further information and annual reviews on specific programmes, including those with a specific focus on equalities, can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting gender equality around the world, and is taking steps to strengthen the integration of gender equality across the Department's work.